The next generation of British passports will be delivered under a new ten-year £400 million contract awarded today to De La Rue.

The passport, which will be available from October 2010, will have a new design and improved security features including the capacity to hold fingerprint biometrics. It will give citizens added protection from identity theft and help secure borders against passport and identity fraud.

The contract will ensure the British passport keeps pace with the most advanced international standards for travel documents.

James Hall, Chief Executive of the Identity and Passport Service, said: "The British passport is recognised as one of the best in the world and we want to keep it that way. Today we are affirming our commitment to making this travel document more secure than ever by using fingerprint biometrics. Upgrading the British passport is essential to keep pace with the most advanced international standards for travel documents and will ensure that British citizens have the freedom to travel easily worldwide.”

The procurement process for the contract started with 20 prospective bidders in June 2008, before De La Rue was awarded the £400 million contract to design and produce the next generation passport.

James Hussey, CEO of De La Rue, said: "The Identity and Passport Service was looking for a partner it could rely on to deliver the complete service for the UK passport. As a British company, producing passports and identity documents for over 50 governments, De La Rue is proud to be selected to bring its expertise to this project. This contract further reinforces De La Rue’s strong growth in the identity sector."

The next generation passport will allow safer international travel for all British citizens and will support the UK’s immigration system to protect borders.

IPS issued two contracts earlier this year:

• the Application and Enrolment (A&E) contract to replace the current passport application processing system which is about to come to the end of its life; and
• the National Biometric Identity Service (NBIS) contract to provide a database to support the introduction of biometric passports and ID cards and replace existing biometric databases used by UKBA.

By Security document.com